As [“Celtics City”](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2025/03/4-takeaways-from-celtics-city-episode-3-all-swept-up.html) continues on a chronological timeline, it tackled multiple issues as Part 4, “Great Hope, Period,” enters the Larry Bird era. The nine-part documentary by HBO is nearing the halfway point as it dives deeper into Celtics history.
Episode 3 teased Bird joining the franchise, immediately turning the Celtics’ fortunes. Of course, the Bird era needs way more than just one episode to fully dive into the full nuance. So Episode 4 focused mostly on Bird and the early 1980s.
Here are four takeaways from Episode 4:
**The great duo gets a teaser:** As expected, the documentary can’t include Bird joining the Celtics without mentioning Earvin “Magic” Johnson. The two matched up in the 1979 NCAA championship, when Johnson’s Michigan State team beat Bird’s Indiana State. But keep in mind that this was only just a taste of the storied rivalry and what Bird/Magic meant to the league. The documentary essentially gave it a nod but saved the juicy details — along with the rest of the decade — for future episodes.
**Racial tensions and the NBA:** Before Bird and Magic were in the NBA, the league’s long-term outlook was bleak entering the 1980s. The doc mentions that the NBA was considered too Black, turning off viewers. “Celtics City” also addressed the longtime racial tensions in Boston, so Bird’s arrival was a key part of the fabric. The documentary does a good job framing what Bird and Magic meant for the league as a whole, plus how the NBA was perceived at that time with college basketball as the more popular sport at the time.
**Rivalry highlighted:** Of course, when Bird entered the NBA, it wasn’t necessarily about Celtics-Lakers yet like it was later in the decade. While the modern Celtics have dominated the 76ers, that was a fierce, competitive rivalry back then. The documentary highlighted the 1981 East Finals, when the Celtics rallied back from a 3-1 deficit, before winning it all that year. The C’s and Sixers had some intense games as Boston won the last three games by just five total points over Philadelphia. Plus, Cedric Maxwell pushing a Sixers fan in Game 6 of the 1981 East Finals in Philadelphia was highlighted as the tide turned for the C’s soon afterwards. By the time the Celtics won it all in 1981, they had earned 14 of the last 25 NBA championships. But as the doc mentions, the story of the 1980-81 Celtics appealed to the city — and they beat the hated Sixers in the East Finals.
**Bitter taste:** While the Celtics soared high in 1981, they were met with disappointment the next season. In their title defense season, they lost in seven games to the 76ers in the 1982 playoffs. Then they followed that up by getting swept in the East semifinals to the Bucks in 1983. So the doc ends on a hapless note as the rival Sixers also won it all in 1983, adding insult to injury. But that’s also its own teaser of sorts as the documentary continues further into the 1980s and the Bird era.
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